It is well known that cooks have a need to taste dishes such as soups, stews, purees, and sauces during food preparation to evaluate flavoring and/or texture of the product. Up until now, the majority of cooks have used regular spoons to remove samples, a method which has proven to be difficult and ineffective in certain circumstances. To retain food or drink samples consisting of liquid and/or solid particles, a regular spoon has to be nearly horizontal to the surface of the food material. This requirement makes it difficult to obtain an adequate sample from tall, narrow or deep vessels, particularly if the inside diameter of the vessel or its mouth is smaller than the length of the spoon handle. Additionally, it is difficult with a regular spoon to obtain a sample from anywhere near the bottom of the vessel.
Sometimes ladles are used to overcome this problem. A ladle can reach down into a tall or narrow vessel to obtain a sample of food from below its surface. However, the deep layer of food material retrieved in the ladle can stay uncomfortably hot for a long period of time. In addition, a ladle is not configured for tasting, because the deep bowl makes it difficult to sample directly. Sometimes cooks use a teaspoon in conjunction with a ladle to remove a smaller sample from the ladle. This method is inefficient and causes clutter and the need to wash more utensils. The prior art utensils are of various designs. But none of them adequately addresses or solves the above mentioned problems. Consequently, an improved utensil is desired that can help remove food or drink samples directly, particularly from tall, narrow, or deep vessels.